Press for the manufacture of hollow articles from rubber or other vulcanizable material



5% l May 9, 1951 A. BANOVSKY PREss FOR THE MANUEACTURE oF HoLLowARTICLES FROM RUBBER 0R OTHER VULCANIZABLE MATERIAL Filed March 25, 19472 Sheets-Sheet l May 29, 1951 A. BANovsK PRESS RoR THE MANUEACTURE oFHoLLow ARTICLES FROM RUBBER 0R OTHER vULcANIzABLE MATERIAL Filed March25, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 w 0 m A a. -in .w u f T, w f l W n w. l y EN 5e 2 4 xx, mw WW1 .lll |r|l||| Il 4 f@ wf- ,E 5 IIIIIIHH IIIII. k

Patented May 29, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT [OFFICE PRESS FOR THEMANUFACTURE OF HOL- LOW ARTICLES FROM RUBBER OR OTHER VULCANIZABLEMATERIAL Alois Bnovsky, Zlin, Czechoslovakia, assignor to Bata, narodnipodnik,'Zlin, Czechoslovakia Application March 25, 1947, serial No.736,964 i In GermanyA September 17, 1943 1 15 Claims,

The present invention relates to a press struc-v ture for use inmanufacturing hollow articles from rubber or other vulcanizablematerial.

More particularly the invention relates to a press for manufacturingrubber footwear.

Known presses of this character, for the manufacture of rubber footwear,have been so constructed that the last which is arranged on a presstable acts as the core of the mould and is moved, while the mould isbeing closed, towards a stationary but resiliently yielding part of themould, The lateralparts of the mould which also rest on the movabletable are moving simultaneously towards the last during mould closure.In such an arrangement'the motion is transmitted from anelectric motorthrough" beltsto a countershaft with'a worm 'meshing with a worm wheel,on the shaft of which eccentrics are provided, which by way ofconnecting rods raise the table with the mould last and thelateral mouldparts, whereby the mould is closed,

Presses of this kind are suitable only for the production of lowfootwear, which does not require a very great pressing pressure. Incases where great pressing pressures are required (for instance in theproduction of high b-oots), presses of the known construction will befar too heavy, as the great pressing pressures have to be absorbed bythe machine frame which would have to be designed accordingly.

One disadvantage of the presses of known construction is due to the factthat the lateral parts of the mould must be made and fitted perfectlyaccurately, as a subsequent adjustment of them cannot readily beeffected. Important parts to the driving means of the knownV presses arenot easily accessible, so that every repair of this arrangement entailscomplete dismantling of the press. The transmission of power by belts,the employment of which is necessitated by the construction of the knowndriving means, involves rapid wear.

The present invention has for its object to do away with all thedisadvantages referred' to of the presses as hitherto known for theproduction d of hollow articles, more particularly of footwear made ofrubber or some other vulcanizable material, and consists in this, thatthe motions of the lateral heating cheeks with the associated parts ofthe mould towards or away from the mould core are imparted to them byrotatably attached arms which arepivotally mounted on connecting beamsof press yokes.

Ther main advantage of this arrangement resides in this, that the pressyokes form independent, statically fixed elements which do not transmitthe pressing pressures they take up to other parts of the press, so thatthe whole construction of the press will, as comp-ared with other knownpresses, be very light for the same pressing pressures. Y

The press yokes with the rotatably attached arms move preferably inthevertical direction and are guided, for instance, on four columns, thearrangement being such that, on the mould closing, they move towards oneanother and, on the mould opening, away from one another. The drive ofthe press yok'esis most suitably provided by driving lscrews withright-hand and left-hand threads, which receive their rotary motion fromthe anged motor which is fixed' directly to a box-like bedplate whichalso forms an oil container, so that the whole of the transmission gearcan run in `oil and provides a noiseless drive with the'minimum of wear.

A lever system of the upper press yoke, which carries the heating platewith the upper part of the mould, is connected by means of pressure barswith springs in such a manner that the upper` part ofthe mould ispressed yieldingly with suitable force against the mould core. Ascompared with 'the'known method of springing the upper part of the mouldthe arrangement according to the invention provides the advantage, thatthe springs can be easily adjusted as regards their pressure effect andare only under load, when the mould is in the closed state.

Further advantages and features of the invention will be gathered' fromthe following description of a constructional example of a pressaccording to the invention for the manufacture of topboots of rubberwith reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure l showsthe press in elevation and partly in section;

Figure 2 a side elevation,

Figure 3 a plan view, and in the right hand upper part of the same apartial horizontal section on the line I-I of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a view partly in section and partly in elevation of the leftside of a press similar to Fig. 1 with the addition of means foradjustment of the sleeves, and

Fig. 5 is a top view partly in plan and partly in section of Fig. 4.

The lateral parts l, 2 of the mould are slid' into correspondingguidesof the lateral mould cheeks 3, 4 which are, for instance,electrically heated and hold the mould parts l, 2 by screws 5. TheseAheating cheeks', 4 rest with rollers (iv on supports 3 1 of thebox-like bedplate 8 and, therefore, move along these supports 1 when themould is being closed and opened.

The pressing mechanism proper is formed by two pairs of press yokes 9,9a and 9 and 9a', which are connected` inf. pairsby' the' beams I0, Illuand In. and Illa respectively; The beams IU-I Ila connect upper yokes9-9a and the beams |9-I0a connect the lower yokes 9 and 9ct'.z In theconstructional example shown, for closing the mould the press yokeslmovetowards one another, being guided on columns fla, the' lower ends ofwhich are anchored in the bedplate' 8 and the upper ends of which. areconnected by arframe I2.

In Figs. 4 and 5 is illustratedlan.F arrangement providing for thecommon adjustment of four eccentric sleeves I1 on the one side of thepress.

This arrangement includes a hand wheel` 45 andf close together.' aspreviously described. Each of the shafts 41', 49 and 49 is-rota-tablymountedl in a bracket bearing- 55.

The rotation of the sleeves |.-1 on-A the lower beam It is eiectedsimultaneously withv and in a similar manner as described in. connectionwith the upper beam Ill. The; worms. 50 rotate the anges on the lowereccentric sleeves |.1. rIhese worms 59 arey driven by twoshafts, theupper portions of which are hollow portions: 52. The lower ends of theshafts 49,Y and 49 are provided with: keys 53 which engage in grooves inthefupper endsof theinturned portion of the hollow shaft portion-52, andvents.- 54 are provided in: the lower portion; of this hollowA shaftportion.

It'is, therefore', obvious that upon rotation of the hand wheel 45' allfour sleeves -o'n one side or thepress are rotated` simultaneously. Therotation of the sleeves |1 on the other side of the press is effected ina similar manner with a similar arrangement.Y

The lateral heating cheeks 3", 4 are connected to the yokes throughaplurality of. arms I3 of whichV there are eight arranged in pairs, twopairsconnected to each cheek 3- and 41 as is apparent from the drawings.The arms are respectively pivoted in pairs atv thefupper and lowerportions ot the cheeks 3 and 4 and'to thefadjacent yoke connectingbeams' I'Il, I0', Illa and Illa. It will; thus be seen that afpair ofarms. I=3 on each cheek 3 and 4 are operatively connectedwith the upperpress yokes 9, 9a,- a-ndwith the lower press yokes 9' and 9a. It istherefore: seen that the cheeks' and themould partsl I and. 2 move in apath of travel perpendicular. to the mould core whilethe yokes movetoward andv away from one another in a pathof movement transverse' toYthe pathof movement of the mould'r parts. The arms I3 transmit motionfrom the yokes tothe cheeks and: thereby the mould parts to applypressure to the core when the mould closes.

' On the mould closing, the' pairs of press yokes are-.moved out ofthe'V position shown in Figure 1 towards one another, the'rotatably`attached arms If3-bearing in theecylindri'cal'surfaces of the joints t4againstl the lateral: heating cheeks 3, 4 and forcing the latter againstthe mould core I5, until the rotatably attached arms I3 finally, on themould closing, come into an approximately horizontal position.Conversely, on the mould opening, the pairs of press yokes are movedaway from one-another, whereby the=rotatable arms |.-3 which arekconnected with thelateral heating cheeks 3, 4 by the pins IB remove thesaid heating cheeks with the lateral parts I, 2 -of the mould away fromthe mould core.

It will therefore be seen that the yokes 9,79a and the connecting beams|0, Ilia constitute an upper' press frame movable along the columns I Iand the yokes 9l and 9a and the connecting beams t0." andlsillconstitute a lower press frame and the arms -or links I3 pivotallyconnected to the beamsiand the respective cheeks 3 and 4 constitutemeans responsive to movement of the frames toward one another to eiectmovement of said mould parts I and 2 to mould closing position.

The requisite accurate4 adjustment of the lateral mouldparts Iv, 2` withrespect to the mould core I5; is made possible by the rotatably attachedarms I'3- being mounted on adjustable sleeves I1 with slighteccentricity, through turning which the mould parts can be adjusted: inasimple manner. In their adj-usted position the: sleeves I1 are thensecuredf against undesired turning on the connecting beams Ill in asuitable manner. The individual adjusting sleeves: |1- can either beseparately adjustable or individual' sleeves can be coupled withy oneanother insuchv a manner that by means of a common hand wheel and asuitable toothed wheel transmission aplurality of sleeves I1,r atleasttwo ata; time, can be turned simultaneously;

In order to prevent injury to the= press through an unforeseen increaseof the pressing pressure, which may, for instance, occur it a hardforeign body should get between the lateral parts of the mould, the.rotatably attached arms I3 are" preferably provided with safety deviceswhich, on the maximum admissible. pressure being exceeded, prevent the.mould parts. from moving further. In Figure l such a safety device isindicated at the right-hand lower arm. The rotatably attached armis inthis instanceV divided into two parts. I8, I9, of which the part I8 ismounted so asy to' be rotatable on the eccentric adjusting' sleeve I1,whilst the part- I9 is. connected to the lateral heating cheek 4'. Thetwoparts I8 and I9 are connected by bolts 20 whichY are fixed in thepart t9., but are slidable in theY partV I8'. The securing devicevitself consists of rings 2| which are inserted inbores of greaterdiameter of the guides. for the bolts 20 and are tightened up by glands22. The bolts 20 bear with suitable shoulders on these rings 2| andextend with their reduced. ends' through they screwed glands 22,againstwhich they are tightened: by nuts 23. On the maximum permissiblepressure transmitted by the rotatably attached arms being exceeded',thesafety rings 2 |y will be shearedioi by they edges of thefshou'ldersof the bolts 20, a further transmission of power being thereby madeimpossible. By loosening the nuts 23 and the screwed glands k22 thedestroyed safety rings 2| can be readily removed. and replaced by newones.

Motionv is imparted to the pairs of press yokes 9; 9a and 9', 9a' bymeans of twoL driving screws 24 with right-hand and left-hand threads,which aredriven through suitable gearing from an electric motor 25. Fromthis electric motor 25 is driven through bevel gearing 26 a countershaft21,. 0n the twoy ends of. which. are keyed worms meshing with wormwheels 28. vThe shafts 29 of these worm wheels are connected by way ofcouplings 30 with the driving screws 24. The bevel gearing and the wormtransmission gearing are with advantage housed in the box-like bedplate8 'which also constitutes an oil container, so that the entire gearingruns in oil.

The driving screws 24 themselves engage with their threadsfin nuts 3|which are fixed in the c-onnecting beams Il), I and Illa, I0a of thepress yokes.

The upper part 32 of the mould, which in the present example correspondsto the form and patterning of a shoe sole, is fixed by means of screws33 to a heating plate 34 which is held by guide bars 44 to the upperpair of press yokes in such a manner as to be displaceable in thevertical direction with respect to the said press yokes.

On these yokes 9, 9a are also provided supporting bearings 35 for thepivot pins 36 of two pairs of two-armed levers 31, which have theirshorter arms connected to ne another by pins 38 and Abear with rollers39 against the heating plate 34,

thereby providing a springing of a kind known per se of the upper part32 of the mould. During the pressing operation spring forces come intoaction through pressure transmitting bars on the l-onger, outer arms ofthe levers 31, as will be hereinafter described.

The nuts 3| which are pressed into the lower connecting beams I0', Illaof the lower press yokes are each provided with an adjustable supportingplate 49 for a spring 4I, against the upper end of each of which springsa spring plate 42 bears, which supports tw-o pressure transmitting rods43 (Figure 2) which extend through the upper connecting beams I0, Illaand during 'the pressing operation act on the free ends of the levers31.

The described arrangement operates in the 'following manner:

The mould core, that is in the constructional example a last I5, whichis carried by a swiveling arm, not shown, is pushed with the made-upshoe in the rough into the press. By starting up the electric motor 25the screws 24 are put in rotation 'and the pairs of press yokes 9, 9aand 9', 9a are caused to approach one another, the rotatably attachedarms I3 moving the heating cheeks 3, 4 with the lateral parts I, 2 ofthe mould towards the mould core I5. Through the lowering of the upperpair of press yokes 9, 9a, the upper part 32 of the mould is also causedto approach the mould core I5, until it rests on the material (forinstance rubber) which is on the mould core and is intended to form theshoe sole. The gradual approach of the press yokes causes the pressuretransmitting bars 43 nally to reach the ends of the levers 31 and,during the further motion, to force these upwards, the heating plate 34together with the upper part 32 of the mould being pressed'by means ofthe pressure rollers 39 against the mould core I5.

Since in this way the upper part 32 of the mould is caused to bear onthe material lying on the mould core I before the press is completelyclosed, that is to say, as long as the longitudinal axes of therotatably attached arms I3 have not yet reached the horizontal position,the springs 4I are preliminarily stressed and by means of the pressuretransmitting bars 43 and the levers 31 or the pressure rollers 39 pressthe heating plate 34 with the upper part 32 of the mould against themould core I5 with increasing force'which only reaches its maximum valueafter the complete closing of the mould, This nal pressure can beregulated at will by a suitable adjustment of the spring supportingplates 40.

The effect of this arrangement is, that, after the closing of the mould,during the transitional phase, in which the material commences to ilowbe removed from the press after the mould last has been pushed out.

The described constructional example can, yof course, be modified invarious details, without vin any way affecting its manner of working,while modifications may appear desirable for the manufacture of otherhollow articles. Thus, for instance, the motion of the press yokes 9, 9aand 9', 9a for actuating the mould parts may be reversed, such that theclosing of the mould is effected by moving the yokes away from oneanother and vice versa. The control of the motion of the press yokesmay, instead of being effected byvscrews, be effected by racks or othersuitable power transmitting means. It is also not absolutely necessaryfor the motion of the press yokes to take place in a vertical directionand, for various purposes, other arrangements with horizontally orobliquely moving press yokes may be adopted. Finally, the press yokesthemselves may remain stationary, when the mould is in operation, andthe closing and opening of the mould parts be brought about by thelatter themselves being moved with respect to the press yokes, in whichcase the rotatably attached arms I3 will push against the mould parts,closing and opening them. v

Besides the aforesaid possible modifications in the general constructionof the press there may also be modications as regards details. Thus, forinstance, the described safety device for the rotatably attached armsmay be replaced by any other known kind of safety device used for thispurpose in Various machines, in so far as it will fulfil therequirements of a press according to the invention.

I claim:

1. A press for the manufacture of hollow articles, such as footwear,from vulcanizable material, comprising: a mould core, lateral heating f'cheeks, movable towards and away from the mould core, lateral mouldparts movable with the said heating cheeks, press yokes disposed inspaced pairs, beams connecting the yokes of each pair together, and aplurality of links, each of said links being pivoted in one of saidcheeks and rotatably mounted on one of said beams, for moving saidcheeks and the lateral mould parts towardsl and away from the mouldcore.

2. A press for the manufacture of hollow articles, such as footwear,from vulcanizable material, comprising: a mould core, lateral heatingcheeks, movable towards and away from the mould core, lateral mouldparts movable with the said heating cheeks, press yokes movable alongsaid mould parts, said yokes being disposed in spaced pairs, beamsconnecting the yokes of each pair together, and pivotally connected armsrotat- -ably mounted on the said connecting beams, and

mould :parts towa-rds land awa-y ,from ithe mould core. Y

.;A-fpress for the manufacture of :hollow -articles, such as footwear,from :vulcanizablegmate- Tied, comprising: Yamould core, ,lateralheating:.cheeks, movable towards land away :from `.the imoul-d core,flateralmould partsmovable'with'the said heating cheeks, ,press yokesmovable'along said,.mould parts, said yokes being disposedin 4spacedpairs,.beams connectingthe yokes'of .each ;pair together, ycolumns ',forguiding vthe movable press'yokea yand pivotally connectedvarmsrrotatably "mounted :onethe said :connecting beams for movingthelateral heating cheeks andthe lateral mould'parts-towards'and awayfrom 'themould core, the press yokes moving towardsone anotherwhen:th.efmould'is `closing and 4away from one :another when-'the mouldis opening.

1,4. A; press Y for the manufacture .of :hollow ar tides, such.asifootwean from vulcanizablematerial, .;co1nprising: amould core,lateral heating cheeks, movable 'towards and away from the vwmouldcora-lateral Imould parts mo-vable with the said :heating cheeks, pressyokes movable 'along -said rmould parts, said yokes being disposed inspaced pairs,` beams connecting "the yokes of each :pair 'togethencolumns 4for guiding the movable rfpressayokes, and pivotally connectedarms rotatably mounted on 'the said "connecting beamsfor :moving 'thelateral heating'cheeks and the lateral mould -parts towards 'and rawayfrom the mould core, the press 'yokes moving away'from one an-V:otheru'flienthe mould is closing land towards one :another 'when themould 'isopening.

5. `iA 'press Yfoi-the manufacture of ihollow articles,such-as-footwear;from vulcanizable mate- 11ial, comprising: v-a mouldcore, lateral heating F,ol/leerla -movable jtowards and vaway from the11n-Ould core,'lateral-mould parts movable with the nsaid 'heatingcheeks, movable press yokes disposed in spaced pairs, means for movingsaid v-yokesftoward and awayfrom one another, beams connecting :theyokes of each pair together, sleeves adjustably mounted on Atheconnecting beams, and a plurality of links, each of said links-being'pivotedcinfroneof said cheeks and rotatably 'mounted on one ofsaid sleeves for moving the Tlateral heating'cheeks andthe lateralmouldv parts towards-and away from the mould core.

6. A press for the manufacture of hollow articles, such as footwear,from vulcanizable mate- .rial :comprising: a mould core, lateral heatingcheeks, Vmovable 'towards and away from the mould core, lateral mouldparts Vmovable with the said -heating-cheeks;movable press yokesdisposed yin spaced fpairs, means-for moving said yokes .toward and-awayVfrom one another, beams, connecting-the yokes of each pair together,lsleeves adjustably lmounted y-on Vthe connecting beams, pivotallyconnected arms rotatablymounted on -the-said `sleeves -for moving thelateral vheating Ycheelrsand the lateral'mould parts towards and awayfrom vthe mould core, and a common regu- -lating member Ifor adjustingagroup of Ythe vsaid sleeves.

:7. 'A press `for the manufacture of hollow ar- 4ticlesysuch' asfootwear, from vulcanizable materrial, comprising: a mould core, lateralVheating cheeks, movable towards and away from the .mould core, lateralm-ould parts movable with the v *said heating cheeks, movable pressyokes vdisposed inspaced pairs, means -for moving said yokes `towardandaway rfrom oneanother, beams conzznecting .the -yokesof each pairtogether, vsleeves fadjus'tably :mounted on 'the connecting vbeams,

ipivoltally :connected :arms rotatably lmounten tim; the said fsleevesrior Vmoving the lateral y,heating fcheeks Aand the lateral mould apartstowards tand away from the mould core, and -means fior-,adj usting- :thesleeves rindividually.

18.. .A press for the manufacture of hollow -a-rticles, such asfootwear, from vulcanizablematefrial, :comprising: -.a fmoulid core,lateral ,heating rcheeks, r`movable ,towards and away from --the -mould`core, -latera-l ,mould yparts -movable rwith the said heating cheeks,movable press;yokes-dis posed fin lspaced pai-rs, means for --mov'ingsaid vyokesftowa-rd andfaway from fone anothenbeams ,connecting vthe:yokes :of each pair gtogether, fa plurali-ty of:;1inks, "eachof saidlinks ,being piuoted fin one of said :cheeks and-rotatably :mounted ioneoffsaid beams f orfmoving thelateral `heating cheeksfand the lateral`-mould Vparts rtowards land awa-y from the :mould co,re, and -axsafetydevice 'incorporated lwith 1at Yleast one `of .said armsfanjd includingan :element lfrangible in response to rpressing pressures exceeding apredetermined maximum,the breakage oifsaidl element-disrupt- .ingtransmission of --power from said beam through said arm.

V9. v.fi-press-for themanufacture of hollowarticles, such as footwear,from vulcanizable material, comprising: amould core, lateral heatingcheeks, movable towards fand laway vfrom `the mould ,.core, lateralYmou-ld -parts movable `with Athesaid heating cheeks, upper press yokes,lower `,press fyokes, vbeamsfc-onnecting-the zupper press yokesmeansconnecting the lower `pressuv-yoles, pivotally vconnect-ed Y arms`rotatably ymounted v'on the saidconnecting. beamsfor Amoving the.lateral heating cheeks and @the lateral :mould Vparts stowards andaway-,fromthe mould core,a,system .of levers provided on ,the upperpress yolres yguidebars carried by said upper press yokesnan uppermouldpart, ,an-upper heating `plate -associated with the upper mouldpartand guidedxby guide bars fixed 'to :theisaid upper pressyokes, andsprings supported by Ythe lower -press yokes Aforie-lipplying.pressingpressure to the vupper mould .par

110. A. press for themanufacturek of hollowarticles,.such -as footwearfrom vulcanizable; material, comprising presslyokes and a mould includ-Ving vmould parts ,movable Itoward ,each 'other to V;reach mould closingposition-the said yokes being spaced and constituting upper and vloweryokes movabletowardeach other'alongthemould dur- .,-ingmouldclosure,.means connected tov'therparts andoperativelygconnectedwith vthe lyokes and yresponsive to the movement of -the yokes to eiectmovement of s aid'parts Ato mould ,closing zposition, :columns v,forguiding the; movable jyokes, a-.system Fofleversfprovided on the pressyokes. and moving with them, dan-,upper-mould part, an upper-heat--ingplateassociated-with said upper mould part guide barsearriedfbysaidupper yoke, said heatingplatefbeingiguided by saidguide bars on-itheyokes, said heating plate rbeingcapable of movement-,independently ofithel yokes and. supported 1by: the ,guide f bars, and springs supportedby the lowerpress :yokes for .applying 'pressing pressure vvto the uppermouldpart.

u11. Appress-of thecharacterjdescribed including amould core, mouldvpartsfmovabletoward and away fromsaid core, spaced press' yokes movableY{towa-rd and a-Waygfrom one -an-other 1infa path :transverse of thepathfof,movement'ofrsaidomould mart/s, means forY moving Asaid Ayokes,and Aarms :fpivotally:iconnecte'diato fsaiid mould' partsaandfoperatively connected with said yokes for transmitting motion ofsaid yokes to said mould parts to apply pressure to said core.

12. A press as defined in and by claim 5 wherein said sleeves areeccentric.

13. A press as defined in and by claim 11 wherein an eccentric bushingjournals said arms at a common pivotal connection thereof.

14. A press of the character described including mould parts movabletoward each other to reach mould closing position, press frames eachmovable toward the other along a path transverse to the path of movementof said parts, and means operatively connected to the parts and framesand responsive to movement of the frames to effect movement of saidparts to mould closing position.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the ille ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 722,822 Doughty Mar. 17, 19032,221,742 HozaY Nov.. 12, 1940 2,389,561 Stokes, Jr., et al. Nov. 20,1945

